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Monthly Archives: March 2015

We’ve all been there, that moment in your career when you must make the decision whether to stay or go. It may be a decision based on circumstances: The need for a job closer to home, relocating or wanting to stay home with your new baby. The decision may be based on ego: There is no upward mobility at your current job or maybe you simply don’t like your current role. But if it is that proverbial itch, that feeling that there may be something else out there that’s better for you, take a moment to see if the glass door is truly shinier on the other side.

What’s Ahead – Looking ahead and planning helps in any situation—especially when your career and your future are at stake. Is there room for advancement at your current company? What does your position look like in five years, 10 years? How stable is your company? Is there a sound strategic plan in place for the business? If there is amazing opportunity for growth, flexibility in your position and a stable outlook for your company, staying put may yield better results than starting over again. However, if the future looks bleak, I would turn the passive job search into an active one.

Good Compensation, Great Benefits – Enough said, right? If your benefits are good or even decent, you may want to keep your job. If you are lucky enough to be employed by one of the top 25 companies with the best compensation and benefits, I would never leave! But, if you are lacking in the benefits and compensation department, then finding a firm that takes good care of you will definitely make you a happier employee. Even small firms who can’t offer massive salaries or 100% health care coverage, but instead provide free yoga during lunch and flexible work hours may be the perfect fit for you.

Can’t Do it Anymore – So it’s not an itch, it is a full blown rash. You dread going to work, you pray for extreme weather or, even worse, you have started calling in sick when you are perfectly healthy. If that’s how your days look, do yourself a favor and start looking for a new job. And if you feel terribly stuck, there are coaches, recruiters such as myself and friends/family who can help provide some clarity during this trying time.

I wholeheartedly believe in the saying that if you love what you do, you will never work a day in your life. We all know that every day isn’t a bed of roses but, if you love your job, those hard days won’t seem so difficult. So if you have that perfect job but just need a reminder of how awesome it is, hopefully we helped. And if you realized you are done—completely done—give us a call. We’ll help you find your dream job.

This week, I decided to “spring forward” my spring cleaning by organizing my work space. I was surprised by how therapeutic the process was. From filing away loose papers to cleaning up my desktop – decluttering gave me a sense of relief and pride, which actually made me more productive. Here’s how I cleaned up my act:

1. As someone with a home office, separating my work and personal life is difficult. So, I started my spring cleaning by removing any personal items – like bills, books and even exercise equipment – from my office.

2. Next, I tackled my storage closet. It was only then that I realized how much I had actually accumulated over the years, and how this stuff was “stuffocating” me. I used the Kondo method to toss the things I really didn’t need or like anymore while neatly arranging my essential items in clearly labeled storage containers.

3. Once my closet was tidy, I dug in to my filing system. Again, using Kondo’s minimalist methodology, I kept physical copies of only the essential items – like tax documents and client information – and tossed the rest.

4. My digital files were next. For me, it was easiest to organize files by year so I created folders for each year, subfolders with the year and topic, and file names that were preceded by year and topic. This uniform, hierarchical taxonomy has made finding and storing files so much easier and quicker. Let me give you an example of how this would work:
<folder>2015
<sub-folder>2015-resumes
<file>2015-resumes-jsmith

6. I even managed to go through the dreaded task of cleaning up my email inbox. There are a variety of tools to help you do this if you don’t want to go at it alone. I was able to scrub about 100 emails per minute using Mailstrom. I admit, deleting emails in bulk felt good and was highly addicting. So much, in fact, that I may start and end each work day doing just that.

After the initial mental hurdle of combatting my clutter, it was really easy and I developed a rhythm. Once it was all said and done, I felt like a weight had been lifted that I didn’t even realize was there – freeing my mind and allowing me to sit down and get to work.

Do you have any tips that keep your workspace tidy? I’d love to hear them.